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Just over a week after the State of the Union address, political observers are still trying to figure out what President Barack Obama's game is. That's because rhetorically and substantively, he seems to be in another world. In his State of the Union address, Obama refused to even take note of the GOP's historic midterm gains and the fact that the House and Senate are now under Republican control. On foreign policy, Obama talked as if everything was going swimmingly abroad, prompting even The Washington Post's Dana Milbank to marvel at Obama's "disconnect" from what is happening in Yemen, Syria, Iraq and Russia. And Obama's policy agenda —...

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Just over a week after the State of the Union address, political observers are still trying to figure out what President Barack Obama's game is. That's because rhetorically and substantively, he seems to be in another world.In his State of the Union...

By all means, let's destroy Islamic State, but let's talk about it first.We are in a very strange place right now. President Obama is rushing into a war he doesn't want to fight. He can barely bring himself to call it a war.Obama didn't merely ignore...

"Now let's make two things clear: ISIL is not Islamic. No religion condones the killing of innocents, and the vast majority of ISIL's victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state." -- President Barack Obama in his address to the...

As he offered to the nation his prescription for the Islamic State crisis, President Barack Obama reminded me of Michael Corleone in "The Godfather: Part III.""Just when I thought I was out," sighed the young mob boss about his efforts...

There is nothing quite like a plausible conspiracy theory to force a quick look over the shoulder and a swift mental connection of intriguing coincidence. Exactly when did John Fox know he was out in Denver and, more interestingly, when did the Bears know...

It was the old Argentine rugby player Ernesto "Che" Guevara who once observed: "The revolution is not an apple that falls when it is ripe. You have to make it fall.''
The Bears need to apply that reasoning to life with new coach John...

In 1975, eight years before Jay Cutler was born and nine before the arrival of Brandon Marshall, the Magnuson-Moss Act became law. It was designed to protect consumers from faulty warranties on products with the psychological benefit of reducing cognitive...

There is no denying that the Bears season has been an unmitigated disaster. And there is no way to classify the key decision-makers at Halas Hall as anything less than critically endangered … if only in the minds of hopeful Bears fans.
Everyone has a...

It's a pity Sunday's Bears-Buccaneers showdown can't be resolved like a Brandon Marshall Twitter war.
A ring, some gloves, $25,000 in prize money to the winner and 100 hours of community service to the loser. Lovie Smith and Marc Trestman mano-a-mano...

You don't need the three-fingered grip of Odell Beckham Jr., to grasp that change is constant in the NFL. Just because you could do something one year, doesn't mean it's promised to you the next. Strengths can become weaknesses, dizzying success quickly...

We all need a friend, a partner, even a foil.
There was Romulus and Remus, Lewis and Clark, Martin and Lewis, Bert and Ernie — and now Phil and Marc.
The concurrent news conference celebrating a 3-5 start to the season probably was engineered to...

Here is a fun game to play for the whole family. Put both hands inside the collar of your shirt as if grabbing imaginary shoulder pads. Now stretch your neck to the left and right.
Welcome to the Bears answer to Tebowing, the mock prayer pose in honor of...

Amid the fury and outrage over the public shaming against the Packers, which was even worse than the public humiliation against the Patriots, Bears coach Marc Trestman has emerged as an obvious villain.
The Great Enabler might not be maliciously cruel,...

When Brandon Marshall attempted to insert himself into the Bears leadership void Sunday, you couldn't help but think of poor old Carlos Zambrano. The volatile former Cubs pitcher once mistook confrontation for leadership too. It didn't work out well for...

Michael Ola laughs and shakes his head when asked if he feels like the Kurt Warner of Bears offensive linemen. OK, so it's a stupid question: Warner could play only quarterback while Ola already has started at left guard, left tackle — and if you count...

Many old teammates will be eager to catch up to Devin Hester on Sunday in Atlanta, especially if the Bears are foolish enough to kick or punt to him.
Given the dreadful performances on special teams this year — among many miserable statistics the Bears...

It takes a certain type of mentality to play special teams.
Just ask Bears middle linebacker D.J. Williams, a longtime star since his days as one of the most highly recruited players out of De La Salle in Concord, Calif. That high school program is the...

Bills coach Doug Marrone reportedly got into it pretty good with management late in the preseason before his team tarnished the Bears' season. Word is, by the time general manager Doug Whaley and team President Russ Brandon intervened in an...

It's comical to imagine the Bears can exact fierce revenge Sunday against the Packers at Soldier Field. Even an Old Testament-style "smiting" by the home team isn't going to return any yesterdays or erase past disaster.
With apologies to sports...

The pristine natural world has been gone for a long time; get used to it.
Nearly all of the earthworms in New England and the upper Midwest were inadvertently imported from Europe. The American earthworms were wiped out by the last Ice Age. That's why...